There are clubs at CSU for swing dancers, zombie killers and Harry Potter fans. So why not people who like to jump out of planes?
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“It’s the biggest adrenaline rush you can get,” said senior fish, wildlife and conservation biology major and two-time jumper Dan Marotti at the first-ever CSU Skydiving Club meeting on Wednesday.
Junior construction management major Chris Lierheimer, who started the club, and sophomore natural resources major Keifer Grossi gave a 30-minute presentation to a room filled with about 50 people Wednesday going over what skydiving entails and why CSU needs a skydiving club.
“The only thing going through your mind when you fall is screams of adrenaline,” Marotti said.
After a short jumping video, they talked about how much skydiving costs, safety concerns and all the reasons everyone in the room should get on track to start jumping.
There were over three million jumps in 2010 and of that number, only 21 people had fatal accidents, according to Lierheimer.
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“It’s almost never an equipment malfunction,” he went on to say. “It’s usually the fault of the jumper.”
If the skydiver makes the right precautions, jumping is safer than driving, flying in an airplane and drinking alcohol by a larger margin.
The first jump –– which will be at Mile-Hi Skydiving in Longmont –– will cost about $200. Getting a Accelerated Free Fall license (AFF) requires taking another seven classes that gradually get cheaper and allow people to jump on their own. Then, interested individuals can apply for their “A” license, which happens after making 25 jumps and learning skills like piloting a parachute and freestyle jumping. Each jump after that only costs around $25.
“After you get your ‘A’ license, the sky is the limit,” Lierheimer said to a room full of laughter and chuckles.
“Skydiving is addicting,” said Elizabeth Arrington, who was at the meeting and has gone on one tandem jump before. “The first time I went it was a birthday gift, and I need to do it again.”
Joining CSU Skydiving has added bonuses too, according to Lierheimer. Things like getting to know people at Mile-Hi, jumping out of people’s hot air balloons, as well as enjoying some beer in between jumps are all part of the experience.
“After you get your AFF license, you get a subscription to Skydiving Magazine, which has a lot of skydiving porn in it,” he said. “To be clear, it’s not actual porn, just really cool shots of people skydiving.”
Near the end of the meeting to try and drive home how cool skydiving really is, Lierheimer added a personal note.
“When I met my girlfriend and told her that I skydive, she said, ‘Whoa boy you just got ten times hotter,’” he said.
After one more short video of people falling through the air at the end of the meeting, Lierheimer whispered, “That could be you…”
